An upcoming event at the Ripton church

An upcoming talk at the Ripton church:

The Culture of Poverty

in our Neighborhood & its Impact on Education

a talk by Pat Mattison

Sunday, August 18th

4:00 PM @ Ripton Community Church

About this talk: At 4 PM on Sunday, August 18th at Ripton Community Church Pat Mattison will explore poverty among our neighbors. Four out of five Americans will experience economic insecurity during their lives. Poverty is of­ten associated with those small sad children in faraway countries, but poverty also exist right here in beautiful rural Ver­mont. While poverty statistics for Vermont are slightly better than those reported for the United States, more than 11% of our Vermont neighbors live in poverty and more than 13% of our children are living in economically insecure house­holds. What about education? By the time a child starts school they are exposed to 5 million words and know 13,000 words, and by high school that number grows to 60,000 to 100,000 words. This is true of children coming from mid­dle and upper income households, but not of children growing up in poverty. So what does this mean, what can we do? What is generational poverty, situational poverty, or rural poverty? Here is the opportunity to start to build an un­derstanding of poverty and begin discussions about our responsibilities related to poverty and our neighbors. A first step is to know about the problem, become educated about the issues, and take responsible steps to address the injustice.

About Pat Mattison: Pat Mattison has lived in Addison most of her life with her husband, Keith, and their children and grandchildren. Having attended Vermont colleges and university, she has her masters of edu­cation in Special Education and is working on another masters in literacy. Pat is a learning specialist work­ing in the middle school at Mt Abraham Union High School where she co-teaches English and teaches math and literacy to struggling students, in addition to supporting families through the struggles of raising teenagers.

Sponsored by Friends of The Ripton Community Church